Boy hit by lightning

A BOY was struck by lightning as he played with his friends in a park. The 14-year-old was sitting on his bike and sheltering under a tree with two pals when he was hit by the bolt. The youngster, who has not been named but is a pupil at St Anthony's High in Stretford, was knocked unconsciousness.

A BOY was struck by lightning as he played with his friends in a park.

The 14-year-old was sitting on his bike and sheltering under a tree with two pals when he was hit by the bolt.

The youngster, who has not been named but is a pupil at St Anthony's High in Stretford, was knocked unconsciousness. He suffered second and third degree burns to 10 per cent of his body. He is being treated at Booth Hall Children's Hospital where his injuries are not said to be life-threatening.

His friends told how they saw smoke coming from his head after he was hit in Longford Park, Stretford. David Lowes, 14, and Reece Gayle, 13, said they had been sheltering from a heavy downpour.

Flash

Reece, who was standing just a few feet away when the lightning struck, said: "There was an orange flash and a bang and then we saw him fall to the floor. It was so loud I couldn't hear for a bit afterwards. At first we thought he had been hit by a firework, then we realised it was lightning."

David said: "He was lying still on his front. Smoke was coming off his head."

The boys raised the alarm at the nearby home of another friend, Ryan James, who had been with them but had left just before the lightning strike. Ryan's father, Tony James, said the boys were screaming with shock. "When I first saw him he was lying next to his bike," said Mr James. "His eyes were open and he was talking, but it wasn't totally coherent."

It has been estimated that the chances of being struck by lightning - which travels at around 14,000mph bringing 300,000 volts of electricity to the ground in a fraction of a second - are around one in three million.